"It's just a big rock, that's all it is, nothing can live here". The words of the airport shuttle driver telling me about Gran Canaria on the journey to the hotel. I've had more enthusiastic guides.
That was fine by me, I hadn't come to live here, we'd come to ride it.
I think I'd heard the most about the Canaries during my time living in London. Many of the Essex boys loved a trip to Lanzagrotty. 😆 Id never been.
My love of mountains was seeded after my first bike tour to the alps, almost 25 years ago. Later in life i came to understand that archipelagos are often volcanic in nature, and i haven't seen a flat volcano yet. When I learnt Gran Canaria was actually a volcano, it made the bucket list.
We stayed in Puerto Mogan, easily the most picturesque part of the island (see below) and hired Yamaha xMax300s from Maspalomas.
My first time on a Maxi pad, sorry, Maxi Scooter and they were brilliant. Loads of power and even adequate pillion space for long suffering passenger children.
The island itself is an incredible ride. Yes, it's rocky like our driver commented, but so is the Grand Canyon and spectacular for it. Parts of Gran Canaria resemble the Canyon, albeit in a bite sized offering.
Our steeds. Sarah demonstrating cautious motorcycling in full holiday protective kit. Evenly tanned skinned is tougher, right?
Above - the cathedral at Arucas, important to note, there's also a Rum distillery open to the public in town. Interestingly the locals say the island has two different climates and that was certainly our experience. The south would be blisteringly hot, whilst the north was like a day trip to Wales in April. Wet and cold and best avoided.
Above, incredible ingenuity or incredibly daring? At least you won't feel anything if the roof collapsed in the night.
The islands roads were fantastic, smooth bands of riding pleasure drizzled over the mountain Island like icing on a lemon cake
If you're a biker and you like great rides in the sun, this island should be on your list. We loved it. So different from the Brits abroad stigma.
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